Symbol
by Lupine666
Summary: Naruto has become a symbol of violence and misery in a time of peace. He is lost and abandonded. Only one person can help him through this dark time, but only if she has the courage to face him, and what his symbol means to her. Rated M for content.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Naruto, or any of its characters.

This is the second draft of the first chapter, no major changes though, just a word here and there. Thank you all for your reviews and corrections. Please feel free to send any more so I can further polish the story. A special thanks to rikarudo for the question, it really got me thinking further ahead.

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There are a few advantages to being a ninja. One is getting to places that very few others can get to, for example, the top of a hundred and fifty foot tall tree. Another is that it's very easy to hide from others. On the other hand, being a ninja now seemed to be pretty pointless in Naruto's mind. Peace had finally come. After years of bloody conflict, where ninja skills were absolutely necessary, things had been resolved. What was a ninja to do now? Settle down and start a family would be the answer that many of his comrade's had come up with...but how was he supposed to do that?

"Oy Naruto! Get your ass out of that tree before I knock it over!" Naruto sighed. That was the problem with living in this village; you weren't the only ninja in it. It was harder to hide.

"What do you want Sakura?" Naruto appeared next to the loud girl. "You're not here to tell me we have a mission, and I figured you'd be spending all your time with your wonderfully sweet, silent dumb-ass."

"You bastard, you know what Sasuke went through!"

"Yeah, I know. That's why didn't kill him."

Sakura's eyes blazed. "You son of a bitch, who do you think you are?" She pulled back her fist to punch the dumb blonde with her signature punch, but before she could even think about taking the swing, Naruto jumped forward, locked his arm around her elbow and threw her to the ground holding her arm behind her back. He also wasn't gentle about it.

"I'm the son of a bitch who never gave up on him. I'm the son of a bitch who brought him back. I'm the son of a bitch that made this mother fucking peace possible!" He wrenched her arm further and she winced. If he pushed any more her shoulder would dislocate. "So you listen to me! I'm tired of you trying to hit me when I give you the truth, I'm tired of people hating me when I defended them with everything I had, and I'm getting damned sick of this village!" He let go of her arm and vanished once again, perched on the branch he had been on.

Sakura got off the ground, wincing as she tried to get feeling back into her shoulder. "I was just going to tell you that the Hokage wanted to talk to you." She retreated back home as quickly as she could looking over her shoulder in fear.

Naruto sighed. Maybe he'd get lucky and there would be a mission, get out of Konaha. He stood up and started leaping through the tree's back to the village, barely paying attention. He'd done this so often, his hands and feet were so sure of where to go that his mind was able to wander.

Peace had come back to Konaha, it had come back to the whole land. That was the problem! Things had gone right back to the way they were when he was six. Everyone looked at him like a monster again, like a freak. Sure when they needed him to fight, oh he could do that just fine with no arguments from them!

Back in Konaha, he started leaping across the rooftops. He was better at fighting than anyone else in the village, and he had proved it! But he had been learning how to fight for so long, become such a weapon that he never realized how little he understood how to actually relate with people in a peaceful world.

His foot broke tiles on a rooftop as he made one final jump up to the Hokage's office, perching on her window.

Tsunade was in the same place he expected; sleeping with her head on her desk, drool ruining the documents that were doubling as her pillow right now.

"You wanted to see me?"

The Hokage snorted and pulled herself off her makeshift bed, one of her makeshift pillows sticking to her face. "Huh? Oh, Naruto, yes, I wanted to speak with you." Pulling the paper off her face, Naruto could see how tired her eyes looked. She was the perfect Hokage during a war, but in peace time, the politicking was too much for her, that much was obvious.

"What's up Tsunade?" She winced when he used her name. He hadn't called her baa-chan for years.

"Have a seat Naruto, this might take a while." He shrugged and jumped into the room, twisting his body in the air so that he landed perfectly in one of the two chairs sitting across from her desk. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, trying to wake up fully.

"So, how have you been –"

"Please get to the point Hokage-san."

Again, her face winced. "Naruto, what happened to your smile?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess I lost it sometime between beating the crap out of my 'closest' friend and ending the war."

"It's more than that Naruto. You were always so happy, always smiling. You _enjoyed_ trying to become the best."

"Honestly Tsunade; being the best isn't all it's cracked up to be."

A familiar half smile crossed the Hokage's face. "You're a cocky little bastard Naruto. You think you could kick my ass? I am the Hokage after all. I'm the strongest in the village."

A similar smile crossed Naruto's face, very unlike his old one that went ear to ear."I'm not being cocky Tsunade, just honest. I'm the strongest ninja in this village, and everyone knows it." He added a sinister twist to the smile. "But if you need me to prove it by kicking your ass, you only have to give me a location."

The smiles disappeared in the room. Tsunade looked at Naruto, realizing how much he had changed. It wasn't like he hadn't ever threatened her before; it was how they met after all. But he had never fought for something like that. He had always fought for something else, something larger, because she knew without a doubt that if she asked, he would fight her for no greater reason than to prove that he _was _stronger. He never would have done that before.

She got out of her chair and looked out the window. "No Naruto, you're right. I do know that you're the strongest in the village. That's why I'm stepping down as Hogake."

"What are you talking about Tsunade?"

She looked back at Naruto, hope in her eyes. "You're going to be the next Hokage. I want to you take my place." Please, oh please smile again Naruto.

"I refuse."

Shock replaced hope. "You refuse? It's your dream!"

"Not anymore Hokage-san. You'll need to find someone else."

Tsunade jumped over her desk. Her fist balled back and fired forward into the back of Naruto's chair half an inch from his face. Even though the back of the chair flew off leaving only a stool, he didn't flinch. "What happened to my Naruto!"

The door flew open and three ninja's wearing animal masks jumped into the room, knives in hand. They surrounded Naruto and the blades were at his neck before the broken chair back hit the floor. "Hokage-san! What did this beast do?"

For the first time since Naruto entered the office, his eyes showed emotion. Anger...no, not anger. Rage. Cold hard rage that made his blue eyes, that usually were the same colour as a summer sky, change to ice. Tsunade, looking right at him couldn't help but take a step back. Strongest ninja indeed!

Slowly Naruto got to his feet, ignoring the knives that followed him.

"Sit back down you son of a bitch before we-" The Anbu never got the chance to finish the sentence. Naruto ducked down, swept his leg in a full circle taking the elite-ninja guard off their feet before they knew what was happening and throwing the remains of the chair into the air. Not even close to finished yet though, he grabbed two legs of the chair and by the time he was done, he was holding only the broken legs of the chair, and the unconscious bodies of the Anbu were leaning against the walls.

Naruto tossed the legs at Tsunade's feet and looked at her, right into her eyes. The ice blazed, and there wasn't even a hint of the nine tails. This was all Naruto. When he spoke though, his voice was level, almost calm.

"Tsunade, _your_ Naruto barely ever existed. He wore a mask, a happy go-lucky mask that allowed him to talk with people, allowed him to relate with people, allowing him to belong. Then your Naruto went through the war. Then your Naruto had to kill, had to maim, had to do terrible, horrible things for the sake of this village, for the sake of its people so that we could survive. Somewhere among that carnage, he lost his mask."

Walking slowly, he moved closer and closer to the Hokage, the supposed strongest ninja in the village, who couldn't stop her legs from trembling.

"That mask was the only thing that let _your _Naruto interact with people, with the villagers that he was supposed to protect. He never had a family. He never really had any friends either. He was never loved by a mother or father, and his friends, his friends were all ninja's, soldiers that fought alongside him in the war."

He was now nose to nose with Tsunade, and she could almost feel the cold radiate from his blazing eyes. "_Where are those friends now Hokage-san? _They all have families, loving caring families. And those friends try and keep their families as far away from me as they can! Who in this village doesn't think of me as a monster, as a beast." He spit the words out, not caring that spittle landed on her face, and motioned towards the guards.

"These are the people you want me to lead, to protect, to serve? You honestly expect that?"

"My Naruto could have done it," Tsunade whispered.

"Your Naruto never even existed." Naruto vanished, and Tsunade dropped to the floor weeping into her hands.

The ninja world is filled with horrible and terrible things. Poisons that kill slowly, knives sharper than the finest razor, abilities that can inspire absolute terror to any who view them. Yet in all the ninja world, few horrors could compare to the angry, pink haired, woman that paced around her living room, raging at her husband. Luckily, her husband was one of the only ninja's in the world that could face this horror without flinching.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to open him up and do things with his insides. Then I'm going to cut him up and feed him to the beasts!"

"Calm down Sakura, he didn't do anything –"

"He _attacked_ me!"

"You attacked him first."

"He said he was going to kill you!"

"No he didn't. He said many things about me, all of which were true, and then he answered your question."

Sakura glared at Sasuke who was lazing on a couch, and he met her eyes without fear. "Why doesn't this bother you?"

Now Sasuke's eyes faltered and looked away. "Because there are other things about Naruto that bother me much more."

Sakura sat next to him, clearly not understanding. "What are you talking about?"

"Naruto knocked three of my men unconscious today."

Anger blazed brighter in her eyes. "Do you honestly believe that will make me less angry at-" Sasuke's finger closed moved to her lips, silencing her.

"Let me tell the whole story. Naruto went to the Hogake's office, and they got into a fight. At least that's what my men thought. They ran inside, and they assumed that Naruto had attacked Tsunade. One of them called Naruto a..." Sasuke spit the word out "Beast. Naruto didn't respond kindly, but I can understand why he did it."

Sakura became thoughtful. "Why were they fighting?"

'I just told you, he called him –"

She shook her head. "No, not Naruto and the Anbu. Naruto and the Hokage. What were they fighting about?"

Sasuke's expression became more worried. "Tsunade asked Naruto to become the next Hokage."

She started laughing. "Well that must have made the baka pretty happy!"

"He refused."

Both of them were silent for a long time. Sasuke was deep in thought, and Sakura, well she was just shocked. "He...he _refused?_"

Sasuke only nodded.

"But...but it's been his dream since...since...forever! Why would he turn it down?"

"All I could get out of Tsunade was 'He's not my Naruto anymore. I don't know what I can do.' I've never seen her so upset."

Sakura leapt to her feet and charged towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kick that baka's ass! How could he do that to Tsunade! She's practically his mother!"

"Sakura, you already tried that, and I get the feeling that if you tried again, you would end up in the hospital."

"Stop defending him!"

Sasuke finally got off the couch and went over to the window. His eyes were looking outside, but truly, he was deep in thought. "Sakura, when was the last time we saw Naruto?"

"Just this morning when the animal –"

Sasuke shook his head. "That's not what I mean. When was the last time we spent time with him, talked to him, he's supposed to be one of us!"

She only stared at Sasuke. "What are you getting at Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura, and she saw pain in his eyes. "Naruto is...was our friend. Why are we shunning him?"

"We're not shunning him, we've just been so busy. You're captain of the Anbu, and being head of the hospital has crappy hours. We just haven't had the –"

"I don't just mean you and me!" Sasuke almost never shouted. Not anymore. He had changed over the past few years, just like everyone else, but Sasuke's transformation was one of the most radical. He was kinder now, approachable. His smile that was once so rare, now came often and easily. He even told jokes. He almost never shouted, but he was shouting now.

"The whole village has shunned him Sakura! Why is that? He saved us! He saved us so many times! He should be a hero, he should be Hokage! Why isn't he?"

Sakura looked down in shame. Everything that Sasuke said was true. "I don't know Sasuke."

Sasuke barked out a laugh, an angry bitter sound, and Sakura was reminded of how he was, a long time ago. "I know why. I know exactly why! We're afraid of him."

"No, he's gotten control of the fox, he's had control for a long time now. It's how he was able to win!" Sakura stammered, trying to find an answer.

"Sakura, we're not afraid of the fox, we're now afraid of _him!"_ He sighed, and went back to the couch, sitting down with his face in his hands. "I haven't seen him Sakura because he reminds me of what I was. He reminds me of the monster, the animal, the _beast _that I was! He had to beat it out of me, but every time I see him, I'm reminded of what I did." Looking up, Sakura was shocked to see tears in his eyes. "I remember abandoning the village, abandoning you, for revenge. For hate! I'm not the only one who remembers the bad!

"Before, Naruto was hated because he carried the fox. It didn't matter if the demon was safely stored away, it still _existed_. It existed as a symbol of the time that came before, a time when people did bad things, terrible things, because they had to. It reminded them of what they lost. Now...now it's even worse because the fox isn't the symbol, Naruto is. He's the symbol of the war. He's the symbol that makes us all remember what we did, what we're all so ashamed of, what we lost."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"I do."

"So what're we supposed to do about it?" Sakura raged.

His head slumped down in defeat. "I don't know Sakura."

Sakura was about to start yelling again about how that was complete crap, and how that baka didn't deserve that kind of pity, but she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Both of them jumped at the sound, but recovering faster, Sasuke walked over to the door and opened it.

"Tsunade! Come in, please come in." He led the Hokage into the living room and sat her down on the couch.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Sakura asked? "We have some Sake from the party we had last week."

"No, thank you, water is fine," Tsunade croaked. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged glances. Tsunade... turning down alcohol? "I'll...I'll be right back." Sakura half ran into the kitchen.

"Tsunade, if you don't mind me saying, you look like something ran over you." He tried to make a joke, but Tsunade only smiled a sad smile. Her face was puffed up, eyes red from crying, and her clothes were a mess.

"I know...but I had to talk to someone about...you know." She couldn't even say his name.

"We were just talking about him ourselves."

"You should have heard Sasuke's psychobabble before Tsunade." Sakura tried her best to keep the mood light and handed the Hokage a glass of water.

"Sakura! It's not psychobabble, it's the cold hard truth." Sasuke growled. He was right, he knew he was, and not even his wife would tell him otherwise. Terror of the ninja world or not.

"Well then what do you suggest we do about it Mr. Therapist?"

"If I knew that, then I would do it!"

"What truth?" Tsunade looked up at the arguing couple. "What were you saying about N-N-Naruto?" Hiccupping on his name, she drank some of the water.

Sasuke went over his thoughts of Naruto being a symbol, and Tsunade became contemplative. "You're right Sasuke. You're absolutely right."

"Don't encourage him Tsunade, I don't want him thinking that he can start mentally dissecting everything –"

"Sakura, shut up!" Tsunade roared. While Sakura could be terrifying when angry, the Hokage made you see your own death when she was. "This is about Naruto, and we're trying to figure out how to help him! Why can't you can't shut your trap for one second and realize he needs help! You're supposed to be one of his closest friends! If only...if only...THATS IT!"

Tsunade shot off, the cup of water spilling out of her hands and onto the floor. Sasuke chased after her but Sakura was too terrified to move. She had just seen her own death after all. "Tsunade! What's it? What are you talking about?"

"We need someone who can look past what Naruto has done; look past the symbol! We need someone who can see Naruto! The real Naruto! _MY _Naruto!"

"Tsunade, we're all terrified of him, myself included, as much as I hate to say it. Who could do that?"

"Oh I have the perfect person in mind for this mission."

Sasuke was confused. "Mission?"

Tsunade laughed, a deep loud belly laugh that came from a place of hope, of happiness. "Oh yes Sasuke; An A class mission, one that could decide the future of this entire village!" With that Tsunade jumped out the door, the laugh echoing through the woods.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke was getting nervous. Days had passed, and he had heard nothing from Tsunade. As Anbu captain, he knew everything that happened in the village, he was supposed to, but in this case he had heard nothing of any kind of action on the Hokage's part. The only time he had brought it up, Tsunade only said "Wait. This is a soft operation, one that will require a very specific set of delicate skills. We can't rush this, but I promise, you will be the first to know."

Sasuke had felt this kind of tension before; he knew it well in fact. Before every battle, before every fight, before every conflict this feeling had come up. A feeling of tension and unease, as though different parts of him were battling, trying to tear him apart in different directions. It came as a relief that when he woke up this morning and walked down the stairs, Tsunade was waiting for him.

"It's time. The mission has begun, and I need your skills Anbu." Her words were serious, but the smile on her face wasn't. Sasuke had no idea what was going on.

"What do you need Hokage-san?"

Unable to contain her excitement, Tsunade began to pace around the living room. "This mission will be dangerous and unpredictable, considering the pieces involved in it. I don't know how long it will last, or even if it will be successful." She stopped in the middle of the room. "No, it will be successful. It has to be. All of our futures depend on it."

She looked up at Sasuke, hope and tears glittering in her eyes. 'This has to work Sasuke. It has to."

"Tsunade..." Sasuke was at a loss for words, but the Anbu in him caught on her cues of the mission and said with quiet efficiency "What do you need me to do."

"Your role in this mission will be support. You will assist the leader in any way she sees fit. Everything, _everything, _she orders you to do will be followed to the letter."

"Understood," The Anbu replied. Sasuke however was still quite lost.

"The first part of the mission is simple, but won't be easily accomplished. You need to bring Naruto to my office. You will not fail captain." Tsunade growled.

The war inside Sasuke intensified and he felt as though her were going to tear apart. "I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish this –"

"You. Will. Not. Fail." Tsunade punctuated every word. "It is time for a change Sasuke, and change needs to start with us. You were right with the intelligence you gathered, you were absolutely right, but we cannot allow the enemy to dictate our movements, we need to take control. It will be hard, it will even be painful, but...but this has to work." Tsunade wasn't able to keep up the tough talk. Tears were streaming down her face, but the hope hadn't left her eyes.

Sasuke sighed. "Tsunade, this isn't a war. We're only trying to bring, well, bring _your _Naruto back."

Tsunade began to walk out the door, and Sasuke thought she had ignored him. She paused at the door frame however and looked back. "No Sasuke, this is a war. This is the last war I will ever fight as Hokage, and I will not lose. You have your mission, I expect you in my office with the target as soon as possible. I'll be waiting...for as long as it takes." With that, she disappeared, leaving Sasuke alone with his own personal war.

Sasuke started to go upstairs and get his battle gear, but he stopped at the stairs. Naruto was supposed to be his friend, and the first thing he thinks about is getting his weaponry?

"Look Sasuke," he said to himself. "I know you're scared, but she's right. It's time for a change. Let's go face your friend." Sasuke walked out the door, closing it behind him.

When a ninja trains, they take it seriously. The skills that they are sharpening are there to save their lives, and more than any weapon, more than any jutsu, they need their skills to be the most deadly on the battlefield or else they won't survive. Naruto took his training to the next level though. Even Rock Lee, the genius of hard work, would have been impressed at his regiment.

One of the many things that people don't understand about ninja's is that they are not fighters. A normal fight lasts minutes. For a ninja it lasts seconds. You kill you opponent as quickly and as efficiently as possible. It doesn't matter how many push-ups you do, or how many training dummies you destroy. The goal is not necessarily to be stronger or faster, it's to be more deadly than your opponent. So Naruto had long given up on the basic training styles, and focused on sparring, on killing. After all, if you can make hundreds of clones of yourself, you might as well put them to good use.

"Five this time."

"Are you sure?"

"Is that supposed to be some kind of a joke? Are _you _sure?"

"All I'm saying is that you have a lot of weight on you, maybe four..."

"I am not going to have this argument with myself. Five, now, go!"

Five blonde ninja's rushed at Naruto, who was standing in the middle of his training field. He let them come, allowed them to surround him. With the amount of weight he had on, he wouldn't be able to move as quickly. He would need to be more efficient.

One threw a quick punch at his face while another tried to sweep his legs from under him. Damn, they were getting coordinated. He let his legs fly out and fell backwards onto the clone, a dagger in his hand. Kicking up got rid of another and a fast spin killed the remaining three. Four seconds, not bad.

"Don't you ever get tired of beating yourself up dobe?"

Naruto spun around and saw Sasuke standing at the edge of the clearing. "You're interrupting my training."

Sasuke rose a hand in an apologetic gesture. "Sorry, by all means, feel free to finish killing yourself."

Naruto smirked and went back to work, killing his clones with ruthless efficiency. There were hundreds of them waiting their turn, but at the rate he was going at, he would be finished quite quickly. Sasuke took the time to collect himself. He was glad he had been able to keep the nervousness from his voice.

He slowed his breathing, and tried to focus on Naruto, to get used to him being in sight. It had been a long time since he last seen him, let alone talked to him. It was amazing how he had changed. He was taller, more muscled. Not big though, he was lean, like a fox Sasuke thought with a smirk. His hair was longer too, tied back in a short pony tail. On the other hand, Naruto's signature spikes couldn't be denied. His hair was everywhere! It wouldn't stay containment much longer. Well at least he got rid of the orange jump suit though, thank god!

No...not thank god. Watching Naruto fight made him realize how much more vicious he was. There was no mercy in how he fought, no thoughts of empathy or kindness. He was ruthless. Breaking legs, snapping elbows. He had become a weapon. Sasuke wished Naruto would wear something orange, if only to see a piece of his old friend again. As it was, wearing a tight black t-shirt and dark grey shorts, he only looked more deadly.

"So what did you want Sasuke?" Naruto was finished and was towelling the sweat off his face. "Come to grab a beer with an old friend?" The sneer on his face was hard to miss.

"Actually, that would great, if you have time?" Sasuke felt a little bit better when he saw the shock paint itself across Naruto's face. This was getting easier.

Naruto collected himself, and the sneer came back. "I probably shouldn't, I doubt Sakura would let you off your leash to play with the strays dog boy." Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so easy.

Ignoring the comment, Sasuke tried to change the conversation topic. "Your training regiment is pretty impressive. You wear weights for strength, you keep hundreds of clones active while fighting for stamina and of course, there's the practical part too. Not bad."

"Glad to have your approval." Naruto glared at Sasuke. "What do you want?"

Sasuke had a flash of inspiration. If Naruto was a weapon, then let's speak his language. "Your moves have also gotten a lot better. Efficient, smooth, no wasted movements. Hell, I couldn't even understand how you did most of them, and even that has its advantages. If you were fighting on a battlefield, your next opponent wouldn't know how to deal with you."

Ice cold anger was blazing in Naruto's eyes now. "Sasuke, I know you're here for a reason, would you kindly spit it out?"

"Could you teach me?"

The ice melted. "You...you want me to teach you? You? Sasuke? Want me to teach _you?_" Naruto was on completely unfamiliar ground. Sasuke was asking for his advice?

Sasuke was already taking off his jacket and folding it up. "What's so strange about two friends sparring Naruto? Besides, there's always room to improve. Maybe it'll help you to train with someone who won't burst into smoke."

Sasuke realized he had said something wrong when the ice returned to Naruto's eyes. "Oh, we're friends now? Well alright, friend, " Naruto spat, "Let me show you a few things. I'm not going to take it easy on you. If you want to spar, then you're going to get hurt."

"I wouldn't want it any other way Naruto. Come on, show me your stuff."

Sasuke waited for Naruto to jump at him. He saw the anger in his eyes, knew that Naruto wanted to break him, but he didn't jump. He didn't charge in, screaming at the top of his voice like he used to. He stood there, waiting for Sasuke to make the first move, and this saddened Sasuke even more. How little of the old Naruto was left? The old Naruto would have jumped right into the battle, eager to prove his strength. Now, he was waiting, calculating. Cold.

Sasuke sighed and moved in for a body blow. Naruto twisted to the side, Sasuke's arm flying by harmlessly. Naruto grabbed his arm, twisted up, and before he knew what had happened, Sasuke was on his back, his arm pointing at a bizarre angle with Naruto holding onto his hand.

"If I pull, your elbow dislocates. How's that for a lesson?"

Sasuke only smiled. Patience, he thought. If Naruto wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't be making threats. He just would have done it.

"Not bad. Show me again."

The two of them met again and again, Sasuke almost always ending up on the ground, Naruto coldly explaining what he could break, or dislocate, or rupture, or even how to kill from that position. Sasuke took it all in stride, getting up, wiping himself off and asking "Show me again."

Neither one realized how long it had been going on until the light in the clearing began to dim. The two looked up and realized the sun had nearly set. Sasuke had arrived in the morning.

"Holy crap, what time is it?" Naruto was shocked. How could he have gotten so side-tracked?

Sasuke pulled himself off the ground, trying to get feeling back into his wrist, the latest victim. "I have no idea. I would say late, but maybe the sun is just getting lazy."

Naruto snorted. "I don't remember you telling jokes Sasuke."

Sasuke laughed. "At least they're better than the ones you used to tell dobe." He walked over to his jacket and swung it around his shoulders, wincing as his muscles screamed in agony. Naruto hadn't been lying; he was in some serious pain. On the other hand, he felt good, a deep down kind of good that Sasuke hadn't felt in a long time.

"Look, Naruto, I know it's pretty late, but I was serious about that beer. Now I owe you for the lessons."

A flash of emotion shot through Naruto's eyes, and Sasuke almost didn't recognize it. Then it iced over and he shrugged. "As long as you're paying, I'm always up for some booze."

The two started walking back to the village, in silence. Sasuke felt the war start up in him again, but for different reasons. What if he couldn't pull this off? What if this Naruto was here to stay? No...no deep down Tsunade's Naruto still existed. If he didn't, then it wouldn't have been fear that Sasuke saw in Naruto's eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

``You never told me what you wanted Sasuke," Naruto said as he downed his fourth beer.

"I notice you only bring it up after you've had your fill Naruto. I never thought you were so cheap." Sasuke smirked. "At least I didn't take you to Ichiraku's or else I would be eaten out of house and home."

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to you cracking jokes Sasuke," Naruto grumbled. He looked up from the table and motioned at the waitress. "Another pint please."

"Make that two." Sasuke downed his own beer and held up the cup. The waitress took them both, giving Naruto a strange look, and walked back to the bar.

"I'm sick of people looking at me like that." Naruto's eyes followed the waitress.

"Like what?"

"Don't give me that crap Sasuke, you saw how she looked at me." Sasuke stared at Naruto and then burst out laughing. Naruto glared back at his old friend, seething. "Stop laughing you son of a bitch!"

The entire bar got very quiet, everyone staring at Naruto. Sasuke only laughed harder and, seeing that Sasuke wasn't afraid, everyone looked away again.

"Naruto, I'm laughing because she thought you were good looking." Sasuke was holding onto his stomach, wincing in pain from laughing so hard...and from the sparing bruises of course. Naruto glared back.

"You're a bigger idiot than I though." Naruto said.

"Sorry for the wait." The waitress placed the two beers on the table. She then blushed and ran to the back.

"Look under your cup Naruto."

"What the fuck are you..." The waitress had written her phone number on a napkin that she had discreetly placed under Naruto's cup. "Well...damn!"

"Why not take her out somewhere Naruto? She's pretty cute." Sasuke started on his beer, watching Naruto stare at the phone number like it was a physical impossibility.

"I'm not having this conversation with you Sasuke." Naruto grabbed his beer and downed half of it in three gulps, coughing as he slammed it back on the table.

"Could be fun...you never know." Sasuke kept goading him, trying to break past that damned ice.

"I can't Sasuke. I wouldn't know what to do." Naruto seemed completely lost. "I mean...what would I talk to her about? Where would I take her? I don't know how to do that kind of thing."

Sasuke put his glass down and stared at his old friend. The fear he had seen in his eyes before had returned, but Naruto must have been too drunk to try and hide it.

"I'll be right back, just need to go to the bathroom." Naruto shot out of his chair, and almost fled to the bathroom. He's not that drunk, Sasuke thought. Maybe he's just opening up a little.

"I didn't offend him or anything, did I?" The waitress came was back, looking at Sasuke with a worried expression. "I mean, I know people don't like him very much, but he seems so sad. I just wanted to-"

"Don't worry about it. He's just been though a lot. If it makes you feel any better though, you'll be getting one hell of a tip tonight." Sasuke smiled.

"Don't worry about a tip, I just hope he'll be okay."

Sasuke rummaged through his pocket, and handed the girl a bill with a rather large number on it. She pushed his hand away and gave a cheerful smile. "If you need anything, just holler." She walked back to the bar, leaving Sasuke alone at his table.

"If only there were more people in this village like you." He thought about his friend, wondering what he would say. How would he convince him to go to the Hokage's office. Should he just ask? He would only have one shot at this...damn, this was hard.

Sasuke saw Naruto walking back from the bathroom, and he was blindsided by the waitress, who started to talk to him. Naruto, clearly embarrassed, was trying to apologize while the girl was doing the same. Sasuke smirked. Yeah it was hard, but he'd be damned if it wasn't worth it.

"Alright Sasuke. I've kicked the crap out of you, gotten drunk and made a complete ass out of myself. It has been a rich and fulfilling day, but now, would you please tell me what the hell you want?" Naruto sat back down at the table and nursed his beer, taking small sips, but keeping his eyes on Sasuke the whole time.

"Well Naruto, part of what I wanted was exactly this, hanging out with you again. I've, no, we've missed you." Sasuke put his glass down, and motioned towards Naruto when it looked like he was about to interrupt. "No, let me finish. We've...we've treated you like crap. I don't even know if I an apology will make anything better, but even if it doesn't, I'm sorry. "

"This is about me turning down the Hogake, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to lie to you Naruto, its part of it, but honestly it's a very small part." Sasuke sighed. "Mind if I talk straight Naruto?"

"Please do. I've had entirely too much beer to be listening to this crap." He said it with a smile on his face though, and Sasuke felt hope rising in his stomach.

"Naruto, it's been what? Two years since the war ended?"

Naruto nodded, not speaking.

"Well, speaking straight, you've been absolutely miserable since then. None of us have been there for you, you've been on your own for so long...why haven't you left the village yet?"

A cold look appeared in Naruto's eyes. The same ice that appeared after he had knocked the Anbu unconscious and turned down being Hokage and Sasuke could almost feel the cold radiating out of them.

"You're asking me to leave the village? Who put you up to this Anbu?"

"What?" Sasuke screamed, everyone looking at the table again. He didn't even notice. "Dear god no! It's just...well I want to understand Naruto. You told Sakura that you were sick of this village, so why are you still here?"

Naruto's eyes thawed, slowly, and he was silent for a long time. "I don't know," He said finally. "I guess I don't know where I would go."

"I guess I can understand that." Sasuke tried for a safer topic. "So what are your plans for the future? I mean, if you're not going anywhere, then what's your plan?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really know. I made enough money from missions in the war to keep me going forever, so getting a job isn't really an issue."

"What about a family?"

"I told you, I don't want to talk about this Sasuke."

Sasuke grined. "Okay, okay, you made your point. Naruto is afraid of girls."

"It's not girls I'm scared of Sasuke...I'm scared of what happens after." Naruto's eyes had a glazed expression to them, as though he were looking far away.

"What do you mean?"

Naruto was silent for a long time, staring into the dregs of his beer. "Shit, Sasuke, I don't know if I can talk about this."

"You don't have to Naruto, we're two friends catching up. No need to spill your guts after only five beers."

The blonde tilted the cup into his mouth, finishing the warm beer, and grimaced. "So you just wanted to apologize for the last two years?"

I guess it's now or never Sasuke though. "Actually, the Hokage asked me to take you to her office."

Naruto glared back at Sasuke. "I'm not going to be Hokage, we already went over that. What else does the old lady want?"

"Well she...um...she wants...you know what Naruto, I haven't the slightest idea." Sasuke grinned. "Maybe we should go find out."

"I don't think I can face her Sasuke. You know what I did in there."

Sasuke grinned. He smiled, he couldn't help it. Naruto was worried about what Tsunade thought of him; he called her 'old lady'! Parts of the old Naruto were coming to the surface!

"Naruto, I think we both know that the Hokage is too damned old to force you to do anything. Besides, she cares about you like a mother...or maybe a grandmother. She loves you. So what's the harm? In the end, you can always go back to beating yourself up."

"Sasuke, I swear to god, I am never going to get used to you cracking jokes." Naruto stood up and started walking out the door. Sasuke's heart plummeted. He had failed. Some Anbu captain he was, some friend. He started going through his pockets to find money for the bill. "Oy, dog boy! You coming or not?" Naruto was waiting by the door, arms crossed and a foot tapping on the floor. "We wouldn't want the old lady to die on us, now would we?"

Sasuke slammed money on the table, leaving one hell of a tip, and ran after his friend to the Hokage's tower.


End file.
